Disconnected undercut

Read this out: “#1–2 sides and back, no blending; top 4–7 in; disconnection line at the parietal ridge.” That's 4–7 in (10–18 cm) on top with a tapered neckline, recut every 2–4 weeks. Your own barber card adjusts it for your part side and texture.

The disconnected undercut and the slick back share medium length, which is why they get mixed up. The disconnected undercut is cut as “Disconnection line at the parietal ridge”; the slick back as “Keep weight at the crown”. On texture, the disconnected undercut takes 1A–2C hair, plus 3A with adjustments; the slick back takes 1A–2B hair, plus 2C–3A with adjustments. Beyond the trim the disconnected undercut needs volume at the crown and a dress code that allows a statement cut, the slick back needs nothing beyond the trim. Our engine scores both against your own texture, density and hairline, so the free check tells you which of the two ranks higher for you. Full spec: slick back.

Yes: our catalog lists the disconnected undercut as a men's cut, so it comes up when your check is set to men's cuts, and not in the women's list. That is where gender stops counting: the shape is decided by your hair and your proportions. The spec wants 1A–2C hair at high density only, and it still works with a hairline a little higher at the temples. The free check measures your texture, density and hairline, then ranks the disconnected undercut against every other men's cut.

It's best on 1A–2C hair and possible on 3A with adjustments. On 3C–4C hair the shape doesn't hold, so our analysis rules it out.

Not as a first pick: the catalog allows high density only, because the shape relies on bulk that thin hair doesn't have. Our analysis scores it lower if you have fine hair and low-density hair. It also needs volume to hold its shape, so anything that flattens your hair works against it. Density is measured in the free check, and our thinning hair guide lists the cuts our engine favours for thin hair.

A trim every 2–4 weeks: 13–26 cuts a year, about $390–$780 at $30 a cut, plus 5–10 minutes of styling a day.

3C–4C hair (curly and coily): the shape depends on a texture it can't hold, so we rule it out. Low-density hair: the cut relies on bulk that thin hair doesn't have. A hairline past Norwood 2: at stage 3 it's shown with a caveat; beyond that we hide it. Barbers also flag: Conservative workplaces, bumps on the sides, fine low-density hair, long faces when styled up.

On proportions alone, our engine places it in the top 3 for round, square and heart faces. Proportions are the smallest part of a real score; texture, density and hairline count for more, which is why the free check looks at your hair first.

“Undercut fade” is one of the names people use for it. Ask for it by the spec above rather than the name, since names vary between barbers.